This invention relates to a carrying device for multiple sets of skis and ski poles and more particularly to a carrier which is removable from a vehicle roof rack and transported separately. Such devices are found in Class 224, subclass 917 of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Due to the length of snow skis, they cannot be conveniently stored within the average automobile. As the number of areas of the country with ski slopes is relatively small, it is necessary for skiers to travel to the ski area generally by means of an automobile. In order to transport skis and ski poles, a variety of ski racks have been designed which attach and hold the items on to the exterior of an automobile. Most of these devices attach to the roof of the automobile.
Various factors enter into the desirable design characteristics of a ski rack and carrier. As the vehicle transports the skiers, skis and poles to normally a ski lodge, it then becomes necessary to move the skis from the vehicle to the slopes. As skiing has become a family sport, it has become common for one member of the family to carry multiple sets of skis and/or poles, especially in the case of the adult skiing with several small children. The size and awkwardness of carrying multiple sets of skis and poles, or even individual sets of skis and poles for a child, has necessitated the development of several types of ski carrying devices. A desirable carrier would be easily removed from the vehicle with a minimum amount of disassembly and then be transported to the ski slope independently of any means necessary to attach it to the vehicle. Furthermore, it is a desirable characteristic of the ski carrier to hold the skis and poles firmly and yet protect them from damage during transport as the skis and ski equipment are normally very expensive. Another consideration deals with theft of ski equipment and the desirability of the ski carrier to be locked either to the vehicle or independently to a secure object while retaining the skis in the locked mode.
Prior art devices have been designed which secure skis to a ski rack or bracket device which is mounted on the roof of a vehicle. Such ski racks generally have provisions for locking the skis to the rack. One such device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,496 entitled "Ski Rack." This patent illustrates an adjustable and removable ski rack which is releasably attached to a bracket on a carrier track on the roof of a vehicle. The bracket can be moved along the carrier track. The ski rack does not act as a carrier for the skis which can be separately removed and held by the user for transporting the skis from the rack on the car to the ski area. Thus, the skis cannot be held within the ski carrier and the complete device, while retaining the skis, cannot be removed and carried separately.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,171,759 and 4,294,387, there are illustrated similar type ski carrier devices which use brackets fastened to the vehicle. A separate carrier piece which holds the skis is slid on to the bracket. In both of these devices, the skis are held together bottom to bottom and then stored on an edge of the skis in the carrier. Both of these devices store and are designed for carrying a single set of skis and only the '387 device is adaptable for carrying a single set of skis and poles.
Another ski and pole carrying device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,192. This device illustrates a ski carrier device which supports the skis and poles in bracket structures which are slid into slotted clamps which in turn are mounted on the roof of the vehicle. There is not any handle provisions on the ski carrier to easily carry the skis and poles. Furthermore, the ski brackets are not removed from the vehicle rack as a frame-type unit giving support to the skis and poles for ease of carrying. Also, only an individual set of skis and poles can be carried within each ski bracket leading to the use of multiple brackets for multiple sets of skis. The ski and poles must be slid into the brackets which do not have any provisions for opening them to allow easy placement of the skis and poles within the bracket. This device also stores the skis along an edge rather than along the bottom of the ski.
One prior art device which utilized a completely enclosed case on the roof of an automobile for storing and transporting skis is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,735. The case is removable from the top of the automobile and can be transported separately. This device is adaptable to carry multiple sets of skis, but is impractical because it is expensive to manufacture a complete enclosure, and it is difficult to transport the case because of the size and weight of the enclosure, skis and poles. Furthermore, such an enclosure is normally not necessary as skis and poles are built for outdoor use and do not normally have to be completely enclosed to protect them from the winter environment during driving to the ski slopes.
The major drawbacks of the devices of the prior art are that they do not provide for a carrier capable of holding multiple sets of skis and poles on the roof of a vehicle, and then allow the ski carrier to be easily removed from the vehicle and transported to the ski slope. Furthermore, the prior devices do not permit easy placement of the skis into the rack for storage or removal by allowing the skis to be stored in a flat position on their tops or bottoms with the ski poles stored either above or below the skis. Also, the prior devices do not allow for multiple ski carriers on a vehicle rack with each ski carrier capable of storing multiple sets of skis. This greatly limited the number of sets of skis and poles which could be transported on a vehicle.
Thus, there is a need for a ski carrier which is inexpensive to manufacture, is strong and light weight, can hold multiple sets of skis and poles, and is easily transportable from the vehicle to the ski area. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if the ski carrier could be easily removed from the vehicle roof rack without disassembly and then be used as a hand carrier for the skis. The carrier should also be adaptable to be locked either to the vehicle roof rack or to a convenient stationary item at the ski slope separately and apart from the roof rack or skis. Ideally, the ski carrier would be able to hold two complete sets of skis and poles and two ski carriers would be able to be mounted on the roof rack on the automobile. The ski carriers would be designed so that one person would be able to carry two complete sets of skis and poles in each hand or a total of four sets with ease.